Chapter Four

The battle begins

"Go on and jump in. They'll just be right you know. They say you're a quitter, that you'll never make it as a shinobi." That's what I had said to him when he was there all alone, on the river bank. I remembered that I had thought about jumping into the icy waters and just ending it all too. I blamed everything on the fox sealed away inside me but I didn't even realize that I had no one but myself to blame. I tried, there's no doubt in that but, had I tried my hardest? No. So, as he stood there with red eyes and tear stained cheeks, I knew those words pierced through his darkness and stirred in him something he didn't even know he could feel. I knew he felt so much hate for me. The one who spoke that which he didn't want to hear . . . it was an indescribable feeling; my hate for him. And I knew he held just as much hate for me.

That was the first time I had spoken to Uchiha Sasuke. And as the years passed our hatred for each other grew into an unspoken friendship. I'll never admit it to him but that unspoken friendship turned into an unspoken love on my part. His pale skin and dark eyes captivated me. He never returned my feelings however, How could he? He always had the girls falling for him so how could he love a monster like me?

So now, as he looks down at me from above all I can do is stare, my eyes wide. It had been years since I had last seen this Uchiha . . . this Uchiha that is so unlike the one I knew and loved here with Akatsuki.

What do I say to him? Anything? How do you tell a guy that you once loved so much that you had forgotten him and fell in love with his brother and only remembered him because his brother had accidently called out his name during sex? Not something you wanted to say as your greeting that's for sure.

Thankfully it was Hidan who broke the awkward silence. His ever cheerful shout of "Who the fuck are you!!?" rang through the stone hallways with a lasting echo.

"He's my…little brother" Itachi's calm voice resonated from the corner. My heart gave a start when he spoke, how long had he been there without me noticing?! Warmth and relief flooding through my body seeing the handsome man once more, seeing him walk closer to me only intensified these feelings. He stopped and whispered a short conversation with Sir Leader.

"Very well then" Leader said and with a short nod to the other members they headed off in different directions. Leader back to his chambers, Sasori back to his workshop, and Deidara and Hidan headed off to do something. I didn't want to know what.

This left the three of us alone. Itachi looked up at the face of his brother, as always no emotion could be read from him. "Sasuke" He said softly.

Sasuke shook his head sending a soft shower of water down on me. It felt good against my warm skin. I gasped when he jumped down next to me and starts untying my hands

"Naruto, you okay?" he asked. How could he possibly remember me? I was a complete nobody to this man. This perfect man. "These guys haven't hut you have they? I'll kill them for touching you!" His distress seemed genuine. Like he actually cared for my well being, but before I could get any words out he jumped over me to try and land a kick on his brother.

I quickly untie my other wrist and ankles. Swinging my legs over the side of the table I watch as the fight progressed. As was customary of Itachi's fighting style, he stayed on defense. He dodged every one of Sasuke's attacks. Every punch, kick, and Jutsu, each one that would have been enough to take down a Jounin had no effect on the older Uchiha.

There was one peculiar thing about the way they were fighting. Neither of them seemed to want to bring it close to me. Around and around the room they fought, at one point I strained my neck to look up and behind me at them.

"FUCKER!!" Sasuke shouted as Itachi once again dodged his attack. "I'm no longer the weak child you left 10 years ago brother, I'm stronger, I'm faster, smarter" I saw the quick flash of a smirk and the flash of brilliant red as his blood line trait spun into action. Horror struck me when I saw my beloved Itachi got knocked back by a powerful attack. What bothered me the most is that he only landed the hit because… Itachi was looking at me?

I turn from the older Uchiha to the younger "please! Stop fighting! Just for now stop fighting." I put my hand over my stomach and bit back tears. Things were going from bad to worse to even more worse.

Itachi stood up and moved his bangs from his eyes "My apologies Uzumaki Naruto. I understand your current situation is indeed a most upsetting one." He gave a small glare to his little brother "You are still too weak Sasuke." With that he turned and started to walk away. I could have sworn that there was a very small smile before he left.

I wanted to run after him, to tell him never to leave my side again, but with my old love there I just couldn't. I hung my head unable to meet his red eyes "Sasuke…what are you doing here?"

"I was walking around when I heard yelling coming from over here, I wanted to know what it was and so I broke my way in" He explain, his voice was so soothing yet I just couldn't meet his eyes yet, even though they hand turned back to his normal cold black. "Naruto, come back with me, I want to take you away from here, I don't want you hurt anymore. . .because I. . .I. . ." I gasped softly when he put his hand on my cheek. Not from the shock of him caring but the pain. My Jaw hurt. "I just don't want to see you like this, you're so dusty and dirty I could hardly recognize you"

"Sasuke, how could you recognize me even if I were clean?" I whispered leaning more into his touch. He was so warm "How can you take me back anyway? I'm a freak, a monster; if I were to go back there I'd only be treated as such. At least here I have someone to love me and who tries to take care of me." My body however didn't agree with my words. I pulled the raven haired man into a loose hug. "And before this goes any farther I need to tell you something, something that may…no, will…change your feelings about me."

"No one in the village remembers you, you can stay with me so no one but me can ever see you, and nothing you say can change the way I feel about you, the way. . . I have always . . . felt about you" My heart was beating so fast I could hear it in my head. I literally could have died happy right then and there as he put his soft velvet lips onto my dry cracked ones. When he pulled back he had me kissing air, leaning forward for more. "I love you Naruto"

This made my eyes open so I could see him. I tried to smile like I once had been able to. A smile to hide all the pain so he didn't have to worry, "I love you too Sasuke." But with those simple little words I broke down into fit of wet sobs. I hid my face in my hands "Oh but Sasuke, I can't love you. I'm in so much trouble and I just don't know what to do. How could you possibly love me when I might be carrying your brother's child?"

"Wh-what? You're pregnant?" When he put his hand on my stomach I had a feeling he wanted to kill it. I put my hand over his for a second for as soon as I opened my mouth to speak, he lifted me bridle style up onto the table and up through the opening he had made. "I love you too much to care whose child you have in you, I'm getting you out of here, I'm gonna bring you back to my home and you're going to stay with me, I'll take care of you, I'll kill anyone who come to take you back, I'll do whatever you want me to, just promise to never leave me"

Before I could get a word in edgewise he had started off towards his home. It all felt like an impossible dream that I was rescued by this handsome of a prince. The words 'I promise' resonated through my head the whole way to my new home.